With the first-place Baltimore Orioles in town Tuesday for a three-game series against the Blue Jays and Toronto just four games back in the AL East standings, we thought we’d take a look at some highlights — and lowlights — of the two clubs’ rivalry.

END OF THE 1989 SEASON

The Orioles came into Toronto for a season-ending three-game series trailing the AL East-leading Jays by a single game. The Jays took the first two games 2-1 and 4-3 to clinch the second playoff berth in team history. The series was played in the SkyDome, which was then just four months old (the stadium was later renamed the Rogers Centre). It was arguably the last time the Orioles and Jays played each other in a truly meaningful series (Yeah, yeah, all 162 games mean something, we know).

THE EARL OF DEFEAT

Legendary Orioles manager Earl Weaver wasn’t really known for keeping his cool. Grace under pressure wasn’t really his thing. Exhibit A? Exhibition Stadium on Sept. 15, 1977. With the Orioles trailing the Yankees by 2 ½ games in the AL East, Baltimore was aiming for a sweep of their four-game series here. Instead, Weaver ended up costing them the game. In the fifth inning, he yanked his team off the field because he thought a tarp on the mounds in the Jays’ bullpen was too close to the foul line. He argued with umpire Marty Springstead for 20 minutes, while 14,000 fans watched and waited. Weaver went back to the dugout. Springstead waited five more minutes before ruling the Orioles had forfeited the game.

They couldn’t have known it at the time, but on May 30, 1982, the Jays witnessed the beginning of one of the most remarkable feats in professional sports history. No, it wasn’t the fact the Jays beat the O’s 6-0. Rather, it was the appearance by rookie infielder Cal Ripken Jr. in the Baltimore lineup. It was the first of 2,632 consecutive games played by Ripken, who’s now in the Hall of Fame.

BIG INNING(S)

The game started out well enough for the visiting Orioles on June 26, 1978. They took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and shut down the Jays in the bottom half. Then the wheels started to fall off. The Jays scored nine runs in the second inning, sending 13 batters to the plate. They kept right on scoring, adding four runs in the third, six in the fourth and five in the fifth. By the time all the damage was done, the Jays had a 24-10 victory. John Mayberry, who came on as a pinch-hitter for first baseman Doug Ault in the second inning, had the gaudiest boxscore line for the Jays, going 3 for 5 with seven RBIs, including a pair of home runs.

TIPPY MARTINEZ

It’s a game that will live in baserunning infamy for the Blue Jays. On Aug. 24, 1983, Orioles reliever Tippy Martinez went on a pickoff tear in the 10th inning, nailing all three Jays baserunners in the frame. The O’s went on to win the game 7-4. In defence of Barry Bonnell, Dave Collins and Willie Upshaw, they were probably justified in taking big leads on Martinez. They figured they’d have an easy time stealing against Lenn Sakata, a utility infielder who was catching that inning for the O’s.

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